Before heading down to Copacabana for last year’s countdown, I sat with a very good friend on the balcony of our apartment in Rio and, from a deck of Osho Zen Tarot cards, selected the card that would indicate my karmic/spiritual/essential theme for the year: “conclusión” (that would be “conclusion” in English). As these mystical consultations can be from time to time, my selection proved prophetic. 2009 did indeed become a year of conclusion, from ending a challenging work situation in a difficult environment and completing one of my major life goals (for the first time, anyway) to bowing out of a few long-standing but unhealthy relationships and transitioning from an archaic dependence on CDs for the more modern MP3 musical format.

Lastly, I’ve found a pair of investors who are interested in seeing Fly Brother soar to greater heights. You’ll learn more about that later.

Comienzo– 2010“Comienzo” means “beginning” in Spanish, and though I’m using that word for the title of this particular section since it applies to new projects coming down the pipe as well as renewed energy and focus (and it fits nicely with last year’s word, “conclusión”), I’m lifting my official word for the year straight from the prolific Lola of Geotraveler’s Niche: discipline!

Regardless of whether or not we’re talking about staying on task, on budget, on diet, on an exercise plan, on time, whatever, it ain’t gon get done without discipline. So with that in mind, here are some of the upgrades and objectives I’ve plotted for 2010:

A deepening and diversification of what you can find here at Fly Brother. This includes a fresh and clean podcast where I discuss issues related to travel, culture, history, and music, and interview interesting and otherwise fly folk, appearing bimonthly (on the first and the fifteenf, naturally). I also plan to update the blog with text, photos, and video at least ten times per month (allowing for one less in February, of course), and to monetize the site through travel-related products that I produce and sell directly, as well as inspiring products and services produced by others and available through affiliate marketing.

An increase in overall presence and name recognition. I’ll accomplish this by submitting articles to both print and web-based media (my goal is a minimum five articles published on highly-trafficked websites and five published in print during the year), creating fan pages on MySpace and Facebook, participating in travel writing forums, and establishing Fly-Brother.com. I’ll also work on increasing my own personal accessibility by tweeting more frequently and responding to every email personally within ten working days.

A shorter, yet exhilirating list of international destinations for the coming year. Living in Brazil means trips to cities I’ve not yet visited, such as Brasília, Florianopolis, and Recife. Argentina rises to the top of the list, with non-stop flights to Buenos Aires from my new homebase. This summer may bring a two-week volunteering project in Haiti, followed by a week of R&R over the border in the Dominican Republic. And on tap for next Christmas, should the stars align themselves appropriately, is a Southern Hemisphere Round-the-World trip featuring Australia and South Africa. Who’s down?

With my readers as motivation, cracking the whip whenever discipline fails me, 2010 will rock. So get them seatbelts fastened and those tray-tables in the upright and locked positions. It’s time to get fly.

10 Responses to Conclusión y Comienzo: Annual Review 2009

2010 is definitely looking to be a great year for you! I'm looking forward to all the new features and articles to come and certainly hope that 2010 is better allowing us to meet up compared to 2009!Happy New Year!

Yep, discipline is at the top of my list for 2010 as well, as it should be since I am officially doing this career change and launching my jewelry business. Here's to a great year of hard work and sweet rewards! bjs.

Anyone experience anything about the easy google profit kit? I discovered a lot of advertisements around it. I also found a site that is supposedly a review of the program, but the whole thing seems kind of sketchy to me. However, the cost is low so I’m going to go ahead and try it out, unless any of you have experience with this system first hand?www.onlineuniversalwork.com

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